Transceiver or radio frequency (RF) integrated circuits (ICs) often have one or more differential transmission lines carrying clock and/or voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) signals over most or all of the length and/or width of the IC. Differential transmission lines are susceptible to noise from nearby circuitries and/or interconnections, which could potentially cause de-modulation, crosstalk, and spurs that may negatively affect differential signals carried on the differential transmission lines.
In a specific example involving carrier aggregation, two differential transmission lines may be placed side-by-side on an IC, where the differential transmission lines carry VCO signals with different frequencies to different transmitter/receive (TX/RX) mixers. Because the differential transmission lines are located near each other, a high degree of unwanted coupling may occur between the signals carried by the differential transmission lines without sufficient isolation.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.